Kitchen Blinds

So the order of priorities is simple. First, a material that survives moisture and wipes clean. Second, a control you can actually operate from where you stand. Third, the balance of light and privacy – which in a kitchen usually means daylight all day and some cover in the evening.

Start With the Material

The single most useful distinction is moisture-resistant against everything else. Moisture-resistant is not the same as waterproof – no window covering is built to be soaked – but it means the material will not warp, swell or stain from the steam and splashes a kitchen produces, and it cleans with a damp cloth.

• Faux wood blinds are the standard kitchen answer. Their PVC composite slats are made not to warp, crack or yellow in kitchens, and they give the look of painted or stained wood without the risk.
• Vinyl roller shades are fiberglass-reinforced vinyl that wipes clean, and they are the most affordable wipe-clean option we make.
• Solar shades use a PVC and polyester screen fabric that resists moisture and fading, cleans easily, and keeps the view outside while it cuts glare.
• PVC vertical blinds bring the same wipe-clean material to a patio or garden door.

Fabric shades still have a place in a kitchen, just not in the splash zone. A window over a breakfast table or at the far end of the room is a different proposition from the one above the sink. What we leave out of this collection is deliberate: natural woven wood and real hardwood are better kept to drier rooms.

The Window Over the Sink

This is the window people get wrong most often, and the problem is rarely the material. It is the reach. A counter puts the window at arm's length, often with a faucet in the way, so a control that needs a firm pull or a lift from the bottom rail becomes a daily stretch.

There are three good answers. A faux wood blind can stay down most of the time and be tilted with its wand – open for daylight, closed for privacy – so you rarely need to raise it at all. A roller or solar shade with a motor takes the reach out of it entirely: a remote from across the room, no leaning over the sink. And a top-down/bottom-up shade lets you lower the top for light while the bottom stays in place, so you set it once and leave it.

Whichever you choose, keep the splash zone in mind. Over a sink, pick a material you can wipe down, because that is what you will be doing.

Near the Range

No window covering should hang where a burner's flame or direct heat can reach it. For a window behind or beside a cooktop, choose a material that cleans easily – faux wood or a vinyl roller – because grease settles on anything near a stove, and leave generous clearance from the burners. Fabric of any kind is the wrong choice here.

Privacy Without Losing the Light

Most kitchens want as much daylight as possible and privacy only for part of the window or part of the day. A few options do that well.

A top-down/bottom-up cellular shade covers the lower half of the window, where the view in is, and leaves the top open for sky – a modern alternative to a cafe curtain. Light filtering roller and cellular shades soften the view in while letting daylight through, and suit a window away from the sink. Solar shades keep your view out by day, but it is worth knowing they do not give privacy at night once the lights are on inside. For a street-facing kitchen used in the evening, a blind you can tilt closed or a light filtering fabric is the better choice.

Doors Off the Kitchen

A patio or garden door off the kitchen takes the same abuse as the windows – hands, splashes, cooking steam – plus constant use. Vertical blinds in wipe-clean PVC are the practical answer: they draw sideways so the door stays usable, and several come in faux wood finishes to match faux wood blinds on the windows next to them. Our sliding glass door collection covers the full choice.

What Is in This Collection

The range here covers every kitchen situation: faux wood blinds in several grades and finishes; aluminum mini blinds with a dust-repellent coating, for a slim, light look; vinyl and fabric roller shades; solar shades in several openness levels; light filtering, blackout and top-down/bottom-up cellular shades; sheer shades for a soft look away from the sink; and PVC vertical blinds for doors.

Every blind in the collection is cordless or operated by a wand. For shades, you choose the control: cordless or motorized are the safest options in a home with children or pets, while some roller and sheer shades also offer a cord loop, so check the control before you order.

Cleaning, Measuring and Ordering

For faux wood, vinyl, PVC and solar fabric, a damp cloth with a drop of mild dish soap takes off kitchen grease; dry afterwards, and never soak the shade. Fabric shades should be dusted with a vacuum brush on low and spot-cleaned only. Our guide to cleaning faux wood blinds walks through the details.

Measure the opening with a steel tape in three places for width and height and give us the raw figure – we take the deduction. Over a sink, check that the window frame is deep enough for an inside mount before you decide; our measuring guide covers both mount types. Every blind and shade is built to your measurements, shipping is free within the continental United States, and free samples let you see a finish against your cabinets before you commit.